{"id":256964,"date":"2026-05-03T21:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/256964\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T21:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T21:00:09","slug":"how-lionel-messis-first-100-inter-miami-games-compare-to-barcelona-argentina-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/256964\/","title":{"rendered":"How Lionel Messi\u2019s First 100 Inter Miami Games Compare to Barcelona, Argentina Records"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">Lionel Messi reached yet another milestone in his illustrious career on Saturday, making his 100th appearance for Inter Miami at age 38.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">The Argentine got his landmark night at Nu Stadium off to a dream start, recording a goal and an assist to help the Herons take a 3\u20130 lead in the Florida derby. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/orlando-city-sc\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Orlando City<\/a> had the last laugh, though; the Lions rattled four past Dayne St. Clair to secure a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/grading-inter-miami-historic-collapse-against-rivals-orlando-city-5-2-26\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> 4\u20133 comeback victory<\/a>, leaving Messi and Co. stunned.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6x\">Still, the defeat on the night does not take away from all the eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner has accomplished since making the move to south Florida. Messi has broken record after record in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/mls\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLS<\/a>, putting together a career in a pink shirt that only furthers his untouchable legacy, fueled by his success with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/barcelona\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Barcelona<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/argentina\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Argentina<\/a> national team. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\">Here\u2019s how Messi\u2019s first 100 games at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/team\/inter-miami-cf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Inter Miami<\/a> compare to his records with the Catalans, as well as La Albiceleste. <\/p>\n<p>Goals<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01kqqd2w3washrz2t0wk.jpg\" alt=\"Lionel Messi\" title=\"Lionel Messi\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7i\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi built a legacy no one can undo at Barcelona. | Lluis Gene\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\">In 100 appearances at Inter Miami, Messi scored a staggering 86 goals. Half the Argentine\u2019s tally came in the 2025 season in which he found the back of the net 43 times in 49 matches across all competitions. He took home the MLS Golden Boot for his efforts.   <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">On his journey to the century mark for Barcelona, Messi scored 41 goals. Sure the number pails in comparison to his haul in a pink shirt, but the forward was just 17 years old when he made his competitive debut for the Catalans. It also must be said he was facing much tougher competition, yet he still averaged roughly a goal every 2.4 matches. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">The same goes for Argentina, where Messi bagged 46 goals in his first 100 appearances for his country. He was 18 years old when he made his senior international debut\u2014and the rest is history. <\/p>\n<p>Team<\/p>\n<p>Goals After 100 Games<\/p>\n<p>Inter Miami<\/p>\n<p>86<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona<\/p>\n<p>41<\/p>\n<p>Argentina<\/p>\n<p>46<\/p>\n<p>Assists<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01kqqatvvjp2xgkkwxws.jpg\" alt=\"Lionel Messi\" title=\"Lionel Messi\" width=\"910\" height=\"606\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"89\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi started his Argentina career as a teenager. | Juan Barreto\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8d\">Even in the twilight of his career, Messi is still putting on a show in MLS. Not only is the 38-year-old tearing up the goalscoring charts, but he is also setting up goal after goal for his teammates. In a pink shirt, the Argentine has registered 45 assists. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8g\">Going back to the start of his career, Messi\u2019s supreme dribbling and creativity was on display even when he was far from the finished product. Although his 14 assists in his first 100 games for Barcelona do not jump off the page, they were a sign of what was to come in the next 678 matches in a Blaugrana shirt.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8j\">His numbers were more impressive on the international stage. Messi tallied 27 assists in the buildup to hitting the century mark in appearances for La Albiceleste. That\u2019s 73 goal contributions in just the first-half of his Argentina career. <\/p>\n<p>Team<\/p>\n<p>Assists After 100 Games<\/p>\n<p>Inter Miami<\/p>\n<p>45<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona<\/p>\n<p>14<\/p>\n<p>Argentina<\/p>\n<p>27<\/p>\n<p>Trophies<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/01kqqd4940psmryjb6mz.jpg\" alt=\"Lionel Messi\" title=\"Lionel Messi\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"90\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi (center) led Inter Miami to their first MLS Cup. | Elsa\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"94\">Since Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, he led the team to their first three trophies in history, one in each season: the 2023 Leagues Cup, 2024 Supporters\u2019 Shield and 2025 MLS Cup. The former Barcelona legend will hope to add a fourth in 2026 to keep the tradition going.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-23\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"97\">Speaking of the Catalans, Messi already had four pieces of silverware in his trophy cabinet by the time he made 100 appearances for the Spanish giants. Two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/la-liga\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">La Liga<\/a> titles, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/soccer\/champions-league\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Champions League<\/a> and a Spanish Super Cup at the age of 20 is a haul some players never achieve in their entire career.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9a\">In comparison, it took Messi much longer to lift a trophy for Argentina. Beyond winning a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, he did not find any glory with La Albiceleste until the latter stages of his career. The wait was worth it, though; Argentina won back-to-back Copa Am\u00e9rica titles, as well as the World Cup from 2021\u201324.<\/p>\n<p>Team<\/p>\n<p>Trophies After 100 Games<\/p>\n<p>Inter Miami<\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Barcelona<\/p>\n<p>4<\/p>\n<p>Argentina<\/p>\n<p>0<\/p>\n<p>READ THE LATEST INTER MIAMI NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi reached yet another milestone in his illustrious career on Saturday, making his 100th appearance for Inter&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256965,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-256964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}